Please describe your bonus/award/recognition programs. Has this changed in light of recent economic conditions? If so, how?
• Annual merit bonuses and merit raises were postponed for six months last year.
• Bonuses are merit-based, but affected by the economy. All other awards/recognition are situational and fairly sporadic. The biggest reward is often positive acknowledgement from customers (end users).
• We have been on a salary freeze for the past two years and bonuses were definitely lower than in past years.
• Project-based bonuses are given at project completion (this is new), in addition to an end of the year bonus for work over and above standard.
• The firm distributes a discretionary bonus at year-end. The structure has changed recently as tenure-based rewards were removed; it’s now entirely merit-based.
• Our bonus program has not changed, even during the economic downturn. In fact, this year alone,
12 2010 IT Staffing Survey www.iltanet.org
there have been some additional bonuses based on performance that were over and above the normal annual bonus program. It wasn’t much — just a couple hundred dollars — but attitudes and loyalty increased as a result.
• We give bonuses at the end of the year. In the past, they have been based on a formula that takes into account salary and tenure. Going forward, they will be merit-based, with cost of living adjustments taken into account. I also give spot bonuses throughout the year for significant accomplishments and praise staff publicly for their achievements.
